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P. P. LAMONTAGNE;

KNITTINQ NIACHINE.- APPLICATION FILED DECJ. I9I7.

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- Inv'novr. "Fqr-'Igki F. La Monmgne @Nys P. P. LA MONTAGNE.

KNITTING MACHINE. APPLxATloN HLED um?. 1917.

1,325,158. f Patente@ Dee. 16,1919

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PafrcK PLuMon'ragne P. P. LA MONTAGNE. KN'ITTING MACHINE.

1,325,158, Patented D60. 16,1919.

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Patented Dec. 16, 1919 l mveon 'PaTr'icK RL@ Monugne by d/a6 www@ Anya.

separate latch needles 'object the provision of means tor msur1ng of the yarn 1n the path ot earner ernten.

PATRICK I'. LA MOlfTITAGN E, OF BOURBONN AIS, ILLINOIS, ASSGNOR TO FARAMOUNT KNITTIN'G'COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

KNITTING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented nec. 1e, into.

'Application filed December?, 1917. Serial No. 205,980.

To all 'LU/tom it may concern Bc it known that I, PATRICK P. LA MON- TAGNE, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Bourbonnais, county of Kankakee, State of Illinois, have invented an `improvement in KnittingMachines, of which the following description, .in connection with the accompanying drawing, a specilic a tion. like characters on the drawing representing likeparts.

`This invention 'relates to knitting machines particularly that type employing and has for its main the positioning the needle so that it will be caught by the hook and covered by the latch.

The invention also has for its object more sprcilically to provide bur wheels coperating with the dial and cylinder needles spectively of a knitting machine and acting to position the yarn in the needle so that it will be caught by the hooks and covered by the latches.

The invention also has for its object tov provide a particular form and construction of bur wheel Jfor so properly positioningthe ya-rn.

The invention also has for its object to provide a bur wheel working in conjunction with a set of separate latch needles and acting to position the Yarn properly in the needles.

The invention -also has for its object to provide Jfor the construction and location of a pair of bur wheels one cooperating with a set of cylinder needles and the other c0- operating with a set of dial needles so that the bur wheelsl may be placed as close to gether as possible and adjacent-the knitting point.

'The invention also has for its object to provide a bur wheel construction in" zonnection with a knitting machine knit-ting the so-called French welt.

These and` other objects of the invention will appear more fully from the accompanying description and drawings and will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

A construction embodying the invention is particularlyA useful in connection with a knittingmachin;r of the circular type argranted December 17, 1912, and a machine of that construction is shown in the drawings together with a preferred form of the present invention embodied therein.

In the drawings, Figure l is a plan View of the knitting head of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a View chiefly in central vertical cross section of a portion of the knitting head showing the bur wheel for the dial needles in working position;

Fig. is a diagrammatic View showing a pair of cylinder needles and a pair of dial needles engaged inknitting the French welt with the yarn just having been fed to the dial needles:

Fig. a isa view similar to Fig. 2 showing the bur wheel for the cylinder needles in working position; l

Fig. 5 isa side elevation showing the relative positions of the two bur wheels and thread guide when both bur wheels are in working position together;

Fig. G is a detail in horizontal cross section showing` the relation of the cylinder bur wheel,

F ig. 7 is a detail in plan and cross section showing the position of the dial needles when taking the yarn.

Fig. 8 is a view in front elevation of a portion or' the machine showing the position of the dial needle bur wheel in relation to the needles.

The general construction and operation of the knitting machine herein disclosed in illustrating the known and familiar and being fully set forth in the aforesaid patent to "Wildman et al. No. 1,047,355 need not be here described in detail- The construction and operation of the separatel latch needles herein illustrated is also well known and familiar. The type of separate latch dial needles employed is disclosed in the patent to Pope and Randall No. 1,241,882 granted October 2, 1917, and the cylinder needles a-re generally .simia cylinder needle and the yarn;-

present invention being welly oli'.l This lar to those disclosed in the patent to Pope and Randall No. 1,096,945 granted May 19, 1914.

In knitting machines employing the ordinary type of pivoted latclnreedles the hook lis constructed so as to be entirely in front dle the yarn is moved up beneath thebeard oi the needle so as to come within the hook. When, however, the knitting machine einploys the separate latch type of needle wherein the latch member reciprocates longitudinally with respect to the hook member in edectingjthe opening'and closing4 movements of the needle there is nothing in the needle structure or its operation which insures the yarn being properly positioned and being covered by the latch prior to casting invention therefore provides means, preferably the bur wheels herein disclosed, for insuring the proper positioningI of the yarn in the vcase of the separate latch needle.

'When a circular knitting machine having a set of dial needles and a set of cylinder needles is employed in such work as the knittin of the so-called French welt there are at east two yarn feeds. At .one side of the machine the dial needles take no part Yin the knitting operation and the cylinder needles knit a plain web while at the other side of the machine the cylinder needles take no part in the knitting operation and the dial needles knit a plain web so that two plain Webs are being knit upon the machine and these, when the conjoint action of the two sets of needles is resumed, are united and form the desired welt. In the case of a machine employing separate latch needles fdr performing this class, of work there is a peculiar tendency for the yarn to fail to be caught by the dial needles because at the point where the dial needles are knitting the cylinder needles are not acting upon the yarn' and consequently do not draw the yarn down over the dial needles and conse-y quently into position. The present invention 1s therefore of particular value 1n insuring the yarn being properly positioned in the dial needles in this type of`machine.

,The machine illustrated so far as is of interest in connectionwith the present invention comprises a cylinder 1 held against rotation, a cylinder cam carrier 2 rotarily mounted concentric of the cylinder and provided with suitable cylinder needle operating cams 3 and 4. T he exterior of the cylinder is provided with the superimposed grooves 5 and 6 in which are mounted respectively the hook members 7 and latch members 8 of the separate latch needles.

The hook .member 7 of the needle is provided with the usual butt 9 coperating with the cams and is longitudinally slotted at its upper end. The latch Vmember, the shank of which rides in the groove 6 has a head 10 mounted to move through the slot in the hook member to bring the latch point 11 into and out of coperation with the hooked end of thel hook member. In the construction illustrated the `latch member is further provided with an arm 12 extending` over the face of the hook member and acting to .prevent the latch member from swinging so far inwardly as to cause the point of the latch to pass back of the hook member. In this construction the reciprocation-of the hook member effects the required reciprocation of the latch member through the coperation of the shouldered head of the latch member and the ends of the longitudinal slot inv the hook member allV as set forth in the patentsabove referred to. The cams for operating the cylinder needles may otherwise be of the general construction and operation disclosed in theaforesaid patent to 1V ildman.

The knittingI machine further comprises a dial stud or shaft 13 carrying the dial bed 14 having the superimposed grooves 15 and 16. The separate latch dial. needles mounted in the superimposed grooves may be of the construction shown in the patent to lope and Randall No. 1,241,882 above rcferred to and comprise a hook member 17, a latch member 18, and africtional spring member 19. The hook member is provided with the usual butt 2O coperating with the dial camsl 21 and 22 which are rotarily mounted with respect to the stud 13 and which may be otherwise of the general construction and operation disclosed in the above mentioned patent to lVildmau, et al.

The machine which generally the same as shown in the above-mentioned patent to lVildman at al. is provided with two yarn feeds arranged substantially diametrically opposite and consequently' the cams are arranged to cause the needles to knit at two diainetrically opposite points. Consequently, as illustrated, the cams, the means for operating the cams, and the parts with which thisinvcution is particularly concerned are duplicated at opposite points on the machine. For convenience of illustration, however, the features in which a preferred form ol' this invention is shown embodied are illustrated at but one side of the machine.

One of the yarn feeds is shown in Fig. S wherein a bracket 23 projects from the dial cam carrier 21 and is provided with an adjustable depending guide arm The yarn 2G is delivered from the supply through a guide eye 27 to a guide eye 2S at the lower end of the arm 25.

lhe foregoing description will be sulii- `cient in connection with the aforesaid patent to lllildinan et al. to make clear the general construction and operation of a circular type ot' knitting:r machine adapted for knitting a French welt and fitted with the separate latch type of needle.

rthe means for insuring the proper positioning ot' the yarn in the needles pf this invention is preferably embodied in one or more bur wheel mechanisms. These mechanisins are particularly useful in connection with the dial needles for the reasonsalready noted and are preferably employed also in connection with the cylinder needles and when the yarn is provided with more `than one feed the latter mechanism is duplicated and in each case operated in a similar manner.

Referring tirstto tbe bur wheel provided for the dial needles and to the particular construction herein illustrated as a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is provided a bur wheel support 29 preferably ivotally mounted on the cam carrier 2. l'lor this purpose a bracket 30 is secured to the cam carrier 2 and to this bracket 30 the and the dial needle hed have bnr wheel support 29 is pivoted by the screw 3l so that the support may swing toward and from 'the center of the machine. A journal bracket 32 is adjustably secured to the support- 29 by a Set screw In this journal bracket 32 is j ournaled the bur wheel shaft 34 which at its inner end carries the .bur wheel A spring 36 connecting; the

bur wheel support 29 and the bracket 30 acts to hold the burwheel yieldingly in position so that it may swing away from the work if any obstruction is met. The entire bur wheel and support may also'be swung out ot' position by swinging it about the pivot 31.

'The bur wheel 35 has the general shape of a truncated cone with its periphery presenting alternating' longitudinal ribsA 37 and grooves 38. rlhe bottoms ot' the grooves 38 extend parallel to the axis of the bur wheel and the ribs 257 are. flared radially at 39 toward the base.

linnen the bur wheel is swung into working position the shaft 34 ext ends radially of the machine and the, bnr wheel rests over the faces o1" the dial needles when in their yarnreeeiif'ing position. the ribs and 2grooves on the bur wheel beingr spaced to correspond with the spacing ot the needles so that the bur wheel is in mesh with the needles. rl`hel juncture of they flared portion of the ribs with the straight portion of the ribs forms an angle which is so positioned as to receive the yarn from the feed and deliver it in proper relation to the hooks of the needles.

lt will le seen that since the buiwheel a relative bodily transverse or rotary movement and since the bur wheel is in mesh with the dial neethe hooks catch the yarn and carry it in` wardly the yarn will draw down under lthe flared portion 39 of the ribs 3T of `the bur wheel and thus be still more surely vforced into the hooks. By the time `that the hook members have y:retracted sufficiently to clear the bur wheel the latches will have closed over the hooks and willthus retain'the lyarn in position. j

The cylinder'bur 'wheels arefmounted and operate on `the same general'principle. "In the construction illustrated more particularly in Fig. 4 a'bracket 40 is secured tothe cam carrier 2, a'cylinderbur wheel supporting arm 4l is pivotallyinounted'bythe stud 42 to this bracket and isprovided with-a deL pending tail43 abutting an adjustable screw 44 mounted inthe bracketfby'which the arm -ll is adjusted on its pivot. This arm is groovcd on its upper face to vreceive a slide bar 45 held in `place by a headed screw `46 passinggthrough a slotin the bar 45. This slide bar 45 is yieldingly projected toward the center of the machine by' a'heli'cal spring 47 connected at one end'theretolan'd at the ydles that the bur wheel will be rotated by the As it is thus rotated andthe other end to the arm 4ly andthe -forward limit ot' its projection is adjustable bythe screw 48 threaded into the bar '45 andabuttingthe endY ol the arm 4l. The slide bar 45 has secured thereto at itsforward end the journal bracket 49 in which isvertically journaled ythe bur Wheel shaft `50 and on the lower end ot whiclris mounted the cylinder bur wheel 51. lt will thus bet'seen that'the cylinder bur wheel is'y'ieldingly held in position and may yield away from thefneedles, that it is adjustable bodily with respect to the needles, and that it may be thrown entirely out of position hy being swung about the pivot 42. p

The cylinder bur wheel cooperates `with theI cylinder needles ina generally similar Amanner to that of the. dial bur wheel and dial i needles. rl`he cylinder bur wheel likewise has the general shape ot a'truncated conev with its periphery presenting alternating'.

longitudinal ribs 52 and grooves 53 meshing with the cylinder needles. The' ends of the ribs fl are radially outwardly toward the base ot the bur wheel and at the base of the Har# ing' portion a circumferential rzgtroovewft eX- tends through the ribs and serves to receive the yarn trom the feed.

'lhe bur wheel is so positioned that when the cylinder needles are in yarn-ria'eiving' position and the yarn is fed to the groove 5l the yarn will beflaid in proper relation to the hookand will be depressed bv the ribs between the needles so that as the hook members-of the needles retract they will catch the yarn and the radial ends of the ribs will still further force the yarn into position, and as the hook leaves the bur wheel in its retracting movement the latch will come into position over the hook and retain the yarn in place.

The peculiar tapering or truncated conical shape of the two bur wheels and the relation of the bur wheels at right angles to each other enables them to be located closely adjacent each other and closely adjacent the knitting point. This relation is shown in the two views Fig. 1 and Fig. 5 wherein it will be seen that the bur wheels overlap as it were in both directions thus enabling the peripheries to be placed closely adjacent.

In knitting the French welt where the dial needles knit at one side of the machine with the cylinder needles out of action and the cylinder needles knit on the other side of the machine with the dial'needles out of action the cylinder bur wheel at the first side of the machine and the dial needle bur wheel at the opposide sideof the machine preferably remain in mesh and are idly rotated by the retracted needles and are thus ready to resume their functions whenever required. lVhen, however, both sets of needles are in operation as in the knitting of ribbed work then both cylinder bur wheels will function and the dial bur wheel although' rotatingA will have no function. `When the French welt is being knit the dial bur wheel functions and the yarn extends from the yarn guide into the circumferential groove of the cylinder bur wheel and thence underneath the dial bur wheel.

This invention by combining a bur wheel with a set of separate latch needles insures the proper positioning of the yarn in the hook members of the needles until the hook members can be closed over by the latch members. This invention also in the particular forms of bur wheel disclosed presents a construction peculiarly adaptable for securing the desired results.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a knitting machine the combination of a set of separate latch needles, means for reciprocating said needles and effecting the relative cooperating movements of the members thereof, and a rotatable toothed bur wheel intermeshing with said needles when in yarn-receivi1ig position, rotated by relative movement therewith, and acting to insure the yarn being caught thereby.

2. In a knitting machine the combination of elements speciied in cla-im 1 in which the axis of rotation of the bur wheel is substantially parallel with the path of the needle opposite the bur wheel, in which the bur ing said needles and effecting the relative coperative movements of the members thereof, a toothed bur wheel rotatably mounted on an axis radial to the dial with its teeth in mesh with the needles and bodily revoluble with respectto the dial, whereby the said bur wheel is rotated by the needleV and acts to insure the yarn being caught thereby.

4. In a knitting machine, a dial, a set of separate latch needles mounted for radial reciprocation therein, means for reciprocat ing said needles and eiecting the relative cooperative movements 'of the members thereof, a rotatable toothed bur wheel in termeshing with said dial needles when in yarn receiving position, rotatedA by relative movement therewith, and acting to insure the yarn being caught thereby, a set of cylinder needles and means for reciprocating said needles, and means causing the two sets of needles to knit in conjunction or separately as desired whereby when the dial needles are knitting separately the bur wheel acts to insure the yarn being caught thereby.

5. knitting machine comprising a set of separate latch needles, means for reciprocating` said needles, means for feeding yarn to the face of said needles, a rotatable toothed bur wheel having the general shape of a truncated cone and provided with a cireum ferential peripheral groove near its base, the said bur wheel being supported at the knitting point with its teeth projecting between .the needles, with its groove in line with the yarn feed, and with its base facing the retracted position of the needles, and means for giving' a relative lateral movement to said needles and said bur wheel, whereby the bur wheel is rotated by the needles to lay the yarn lying in its groove in the path of the needles, and whereby as the needles retract the yarn is forced back between the needles insuring its being caught by the hooks.

6. A knitting machine comprising a dial, a set of dial needles radially reciprocable therein, a cylinder, a set of cylinder needles reciprocable therein, a rotatable toothed dial bur wheel having the general shape of a truncated cone resting over the dialneedles when in projected position and intermeshing therewith, and a rotatable toothed cylinder bur wheel having the general shape of a truncated cone and having the intermediate portion of its periphery closely adjacent to the intermediate portion of the periphery of the dial bur wheel and resting against the Cylinder needles When in projected position and intermeshing therewith whereby the yarn may be delivered from the respective bur-Wheels to their respective needles closely adjacent to the knitting point. A

7. A bur wheel for knitting machines having the general shape of a truncated cone with its periphery presenting alternating longitudinal teeth and grooves and having a circumferential groove intersecting said teeth.

8. A bur Wheel constructed Aas set forth in claim 7 in which the teeth areA flared radially outward from the saidl circumferential groove to the base.

9. A bur Wheel constructed as set forth in claim 7 in Which the longitudinal grooves at their bottoms extend parallel to the axis of the bur Wheel.

10. A bur Wheel for knitting machines having the general shape of a truncated cone with its periphery presenting alternating longitudinal teeth and grooves and having the teeth flared radially outward toward the base. ll. A bur Wheel constructed as set forth in claim 10 in Which the longitudinal grooves at their bottoms extend parallel to the aXis of the bur wheel.

In testimony whereof, I name to this specification.

PATRICK P. LA MONTAGNE.

have signed my 

